How to deal with wedding planning stress

My client (she's the Mother of the Bride) told me this afternoon that she feels that her stress level is slowly rising as the wedding date is approaching rapidly (we have 1 month and 17 days left to go to Event Date). I ask her how come as it is not the first wedding in the family albeit it's her eldest daughter that's getting hitched. She was worried about our meeting with the venue representative as he was taking over the sales executive that we have been dealing with who has resigned from the resort last month, worried about what can go wrong during the wedding and so forth. The meeting today was for us to touch base with this new guy, who Thank God, is the Sr Sales Manager and is very genial and friendly with us, not to mention knowing his stuff. The worry was wiped away instantly from my client and the three of us got on like a house on fire.

Basically, at some point some brides (I find that grooms are more laidback and just want to get married!) gets disheartened about the whole planning the wedding and going through all the minute details as well as absorbing it, trying to remember every single conversation. To handle stress easily, try to:-

1. Allocate certain hours of the day for your planning i.e. from 5-7pm that is when you make calls to vendors, update the details in your log book or answer emails pertaining to the wedding. If you do it during your lunch break, you might just not have enough time to eat. Now that is where it gets serious as your weight will be affected as well as your bridal outfit.
2. Back up all details and have everything in writing from the vendors. Send an email after a meeting with them to recap what has been discussed about to ensure that there are no miscommunication during the discussion. I usually have my jottings in a book (as well as sketches) on the computer.
3. Once you have decided on a theme or the style - stop reading bridal magazines. It will only confuse you about your prior decisions or selection.
4. If it all looks dreary or just too over-whelming, take a break from it. Rest your mind over the weekend and don't discuss the wedding with your fiance or friends. Just tell them that you are having a little break from the planning, not the wedding. Having a break from the planning will eventually remind you why you are getting married to the man you love.
5. If you still feel that you can't handle it anymore, share the task with your fiance or  delegate some duties to your bridesmaids. They are more than willing to help, just set a dateline on the task which at the end of the day can ease your stress and still get results!

Photo from Bella Baxter Events

But if you think that it is just too overwhelming for you to handle the planning and work commitment is just unbearable, give us a call and we can take away the stress from you!

Has it been that long?

I do apologise for not updating my blog, though I'm trying not to make (or create) any excuses here but I have been advised to take it slow this year. So far, I had only taken on 2 wedding coordinations earlier this year and 3 wedding plannings for October, November and December. That's taking it very slooooww...

I have also indicated the number of guests on the heading of each wedding as reference for you to gauge the size of the ballroom for your event.

April, 2012 - Rahida & Halif, Grand Dorsett, Subang Jaya (600+ pax)
I had a pleasant surprise one day receiving a call from Sherly Aziz, (who used to 'learn the ropes' with PDP in 2009 as a wedding coordinator and planner) asking me if I was still available for April as she had to refer one of her clients to me as she was unable to do the event. Of course I was (remember the taking it slow bit in earlier paragraph?) and the bride, Rahida called me from London to start the ball rolling from there. All planning was done by the bride and her staff (it's not the 1st wedding of the family so they more or less know how to go about it) and all she wanted was a coordinator to run the show. 2-3 meetings was all it took and the rest was information relay via emails and bbm. I had the opportunity to work with the incomparable Adibah Noor, the Master of Ceremony for the event and it was a great (and hilarious) experience. Rahida's parents was wonderful to work with and which made my job easier although there were quite a few VVIPs, it was a smooth sailing event. Thanks, Sherly!

Decor by Cosry.

January, 2012 - Akma & Amran, Pullman Putrajaya (Wedding Coordination) -300pax
Akma was a super organised bride who is a planner where she works with the government. However, on her wedding reception, she told me, she wanted her friends to enjoy themselves instead of helping to coordinate the event. She just wanted someone to coordinate her event and to ensure nothing goes wrong after all her careful planning. I was 'screened' by her parents during our initial meet up and was given the green light by her father to undertake the task of coordinating her wedding dinner reception at Pullman Putrajaya. Akma also wanted the main lighting in the ballroom to be as minimal as it can be so that the mood lighting would be the main lights instead. Decor was done by KS Entourage.

November 2011 - Sakinah & Zaim, Marriot Putrajaya - 400 pax
I must confess that I was not truly happy with the outcome of the decor for this wedding. My usual decorator (whom shall remain nameless for the sake of professionalism and ethics but you know who you are) came with the wrong type and colour of flowers. 1) Punctuality went out of the window and as a result, it was too late  for me to ask him to change, 2) The main entrance was not decorated at all except for 2 pillars and topped with wrought iron dome and 3) and left before I could check his work. To diffuse my client's frustration, I had to instruct my coordinators to make do and mend with what ever left over flowers that the decorator had left us with. See, even Wedding Planners get dubbed by their regular vendors... Up to today (2012) he has not reimbursed my client which he had promised to and has not even called the bride to apologise for his very short-comings.

So for this particular entry, I shamefully WILL not name the decorator as it was a major embarassment to me and PDP to be linked to this entity.

It's a first of using patterned lighting to the Main Dais, client and I kind of like the effect...although this picture does not do any justice to it.

As you can see, the 'starry' effect does not reflect on the Bride and Groom's faces...

Lightings by PSL - Psychoacoustic Sound & Lights

To have or not to have a Wedding Planner...

If you are still wondering whether you should hire a Wedding Planner to help you for your wedding planning and coordination, maybe this video might help. The bride and groom were only visible during rehearsal and the rest of the preparation are done by PDP.

This is one way for you to enjoy your wedding day.